Pan Am Flight 806
Pan Am Flight 806 was an international scheduled flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to Los Angeles, California, with intermediate stops at Pago Pago, American Samoa and Honolulu, Hawaii. On January 30, 1974, the Boeing 707 Clipper Radiant crashed on approach (aviation)|approach] to Pago Pago International Airport, killing 87 passengers and ten crew members, making it the deadliest aviation incident in American Samoan history.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of the accident was the flight crew's tardy identification of microburst-induced wind shear. Other factors included poor visibility, a lack of altitude, and airspeed callouts by the aircrew.
Aircraft and flight crew
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-321B powered by Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B engines. It had accumulated 21,625 airframe hours since its first flight in 1967.This 707 was piloted by Captain Leroy Petersen, age 52, who had 17,414 hours of pilot time of which 7,416 hours were in the 707. The copilot was First Officer Richard Gaines, 37, with 5,107 total piloting hours all in the 707. The Third officer was James Phillips, 43, with 5,208 total pilot hours of which 4,706 were on the 707 and the flight engineer was Gerry Green, 37, who had 2,399 total hours as both a Flight Engineer and reserve first officer of which 1,444 were on the 707.
Although Gaines was scheduled to act as First officer on the flight, he had become ill with Laryngitis and as such was replaced by Third Officer Phillips, who acted as First Officer whilst Gaines stayed in the cockpit in the jumpseat.
Among the survivors was the US Olympic diving coach Dick Smith.
Accident
At 20:14, Flight 806 departed Auckland with 91 passengersand 10 crewmembers on board with an instrument flight rules flight plan to Pago Pago.
At 23:34, Flight 806 had descended to, and captured the 226 degree radial of the Pago Pago VHF omnidirectional range, and were flying the reciprocal heading of 46 degrees. Pago Pago Approach Control reported winds zero one zero degrees at one five, gusting two zero.
The flight was receiving signals from the Localizer and was using the Instrument landing system for runway 5. At 23:38, the approach controller informed the flight of a mean rain shower at the airport, and then at 23:39 stated the wind is zero three zero degrees at two zero, gusting two five. The flight transmitted "Eight zero six, wilco" at 23:39:41. This was the last communication received from Flight 806.
The Cockpit voice recorder recorded normal cockpit conversation during the last minute of the flight. At 23:40:22 the co-pilot said "You're a little high" and at 23:40:33 "You're at minimums." At 23:40:35 the first officer stated "Field in sight" then "Turn to your right" followed by "hundred and forty knots." No further conversation was recorded by the CVR.
At 23:40:42 the 707 came in contact with trees short of the runway 5 threshold. The aircraft first impacted the ground 236 feet further and plowed through dense vegetation for another before crashing into a three foot high rock wall. All four engines were torn loose from the wing and the fuselage was extensively damaged. A post-impact fire consumed most of the aircraft.
Aftermath
The crew of 10 and 87 passengers ultimately died as a direct cause of the accident. Notably, all the passengers and crew survived the initial impact. Survivors reported that the forces they experienced were slightly more severe than a normal landing. After examination the cabin interior was found to be undamaged by the crash.Nine passengers and one crew member, Third Officer Phillips, survived the initial crash and post-accident fire. One passenger died the day after the accident. Three days after the accident, the remaining crew member and three passengers died. One passenger died nine days after the accident. According to NTSB 49 CFR part 830, fatalities occurring more than seven days after the accident shall not be attributed to said accident.